Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B • Hacker News Board

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#11

Post by brianwawok » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 1:52 AM UTC

msoad wrote: post #9

Taxi fare is something everyone wants to save on. Once Uber and Lyft start making big margin on their service other low key and smaller companies can compete with them. Pretty much like airfare. Price is the king and low cost companies are doing a lot of business. I'm not sure how this Uber/Lyft story will end but I'm pretty sure it's not going to end like Facebook or Google.

Unless one brings robot taxis. Lowest price and highest profits.

Right now it's just an app for taxis. But robots totally flip the market on head.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#12

Post by yueq » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 1:53 AM UTC

danso wrote: post #2

How big is the gap between Lyft and Uber in India and China and other large Asian markets? In China, is there a state-favored rival [1] that could just shut out both? From an American perspective, it's hard to imagine Lyft overcoming Uber's lead...but maybe it's a sensible investment if Lyft has a strong chance of being bought by an Asian company? [1] edit: Found this Fortune article, which describes Didi-Kuaidi as t…

Uber has very little chance to win China market considering competition from Didi which is backed by Tencent and Alibaba. Considering the insurmountable dominance of Tencent's Wechat and Alibaba's AliPay on mobile phones in Chinese market.

Some reports that Didi has 80+% market in China and Uber gets 10+%.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#13

Post by danieltillett » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:12 AM UTC

If they actually manage to raise this amount of money then an amazing amount of capital is going to be destroyed over the next couple of years. Uber and Lyft going head to head to try and grab a monopoly is an extremely effective way for investors to lose a truck load of money.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#14

Post by mdc2161 » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:20 AM UTC

Well I guess that could explain the 50% off rides promo they've been running in NYC for the past 6 weeks. Seems like every Sunday I get a push notification that it is extended.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#15

Post by HappyTypist » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:22 AM UTC

argonaut wrote: post #10

tswartz wrote: post #4

>Amid reports of Lyft’s financial struggles in its recently leaked financials, it’s obvious why the company seeks to raise so much money — the on-demand transportation market is a tough place to operate, especially with competition like Uber. According to Bloomberg, the ridesharing startup took a net loss of $127 million in the first half of this year while bringing in less than $47 million in revenue. Does anybody k…

Uber loses at least $470M / year, if not more (unsure if the number is per quarter, half-year, or full year) [1]. Lyft's struggles have nothing to do with their losses, and all to do with the fact that they're losing the market to Uber. [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-reportedly-operating-at-...

Uber lost 470m/period. As the article mentions, these figures are outdated by a number of years and completely irrelevant - Uber is hitting more than 2.5 billion in revenue (commission) this year.

According to public information, Lyft is losing approximately 3 to 5 times the amount of money per ride.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#16

Post by HappyTypist » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:25 AM UTC

mdc2161 wrote: post #14

Well I guess that could explain the 50% off rides promo they've been running in NYC for the past 6 weeks. Seems like every Sunday I get a push notification that it is extended.

Lyft is running cash-burning (not merely unsustainable) promotions in a select number of cities, most likely to try and impress prospective investors that "We have 40% marketshare in NYC!".

Pretty meaningless when that's the result of a 50% off. Meanwhile Uber has been cutting back on promotions and incentives.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#17

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:33 AM UTC

brianwawok wrote: post #11

msoad wrote: post #9

Taxi fare is something everyone wants to save on. Once Uber and Lyft start making big margin on their service other low key and smaller companies can compete with them. Pretty much like airfare. Price is the king and low cost companies are doing a lot of business. I'm not sure how this Uber/Lyft story will end but I'm pretty sure it's not going to end like Facebook or Google.

Unless one brings robot taxis. Lowest price and highest profits. Right now it's just an app for taxis. But robots totally flip the market on head.

Too early. They'll run out of cash long before 'robot taxis' will save their asses.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#18

Post by OmarIsmail » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:35 AM UTC

danieltillett wrote: post #13

If they actually manage to raise this amount of money then an amazing amount of capital is going to be destroyed over the next couple of years. Uber and Lyft going head to head to try and grab a monopoly is an extremely effective way for investors to lose a truck load of money.

"Destroyed" is an unfortunate term to use. The drivers and riders will benefit who are predominantly not rich, so its actually a kind of stimulus.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#19

Post by codyb » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:42 AM UTC

OmarIsmail wrote: post #18

danieltillett wrote: post #13

If they actually manage to raise this amount of money then an amazing amount of capital is going to be destroyed over the next couple of years. Uber and Lyft going head to head to try and grab a monopoly is an extremely effective way for investors to lose a truck load of money.

"Destroyed" is an unfortunate term to use. The drivers and riders will benefit who are predominantly not rich, so its actually a kind of stimulus.

Maybe not rich but a lot of the lower income people in my neighborhood in Brooklyn aren't using Uber or Lyft regardless of how cheap because they don't have much money period. You have to have a phone and internet access for these services so it's definitely not hitting the lowest brackets.

Re: Lyft Files to Raise as Much as $1B

#20

Post by danieltillett » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 2:48 AM UTC

OmarIsmail wrote: post #18

danieltillett wrote: post #13

If they actually manage to raise this amount of money then an amazing amount of capital is going to be destroyed over the next couple of years. Uber and Lyft going head to head to try and grab a monopoly is an extremely effective way for investors to lose a truck load of money.

"Destroyed" is an unfortunate term to use. The drivers and riders will benefit who are predominantly not rich, so its actually a kind of stimulus.

It probably is closer to destroy rather than transfer. Yes there will be a shift of capital from investors pockets (pension funds ultimately) to drivers and consumers, but a lot of this capital will be squandered on drivers driving at less than full capacity and consumers not paying the true economic price. Neither of these is a very productive use of capital - there is of course the environmental cost of half-empty cars driving around too.